Photographic Memories
by woodyandjordan4ever
Summary: Having lost everything, Edward moved to Forks looking for a fresh start.  Will he find what he's looking for?  There will probably be some drama, but I guarantee will be HEA.


A/N: Hi everyone! This is my first fan-fic, ever and I am really nervous about posting this for everyone to read. I want to say that this first chapter is sort of a prequel to the actual story as well as an outtake as it is mainly the back-story of one the minor characters. Please review, I cherish any constructive criticism. It only serves to make me a better writer. At this time, I do not have a beta so all mistakes are mine. I am currently looking for a beta so if anyone is interested, please PM me. I do not have a planned posting schedule at this point since I have not written all that far ahead. That's enough of me, now on with the story. Hope you all enjoy!

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><p><strong>PrequalOuttake**

**EPOV**

_Summer 2010_

My parents had moved to Forks, WA from Chicago several years ago after my father, Carlisle, had been offered a job as Chief Surgeon at Forks General Hospital. Sure, he probably would have been promoted to Chief Surgeon eventually had he stayed in Chicago, but by moving to Forks, Carlisle would get to realize his dream much sooner. When my parents, along with my younger brother Jasper, moved I had decided to stay behind in Chicago and try to make it on my own. I was 22 at the time and had just graduated from college. My degree was in art with a concentration in photography. I had always loved taking photographs and I knew that I was good but I had the potential to one day be great. Although, my father had wished that I would have followed in his footsteps, he encouraged me no matter what I chose to do. I landed a job in a local photography studio right out of school and things were great, for a while at least. I excelled in my job and was eventually promoted to manager.

Then last year, everything came crashing down. I found out my girlfriend of two years, Claire, had been cheating on me and with my boss, no less. I lost Claire, I lost my job and I was really missing my family. With the loss of my girlfriend and my job, Chicago no longer held anything for me. I called my father up and told him that I would be moving to Forks and that I would be there by the end of the month.

I packed up and moved out of my apartment just a couple weeks later. I crashed at my parent's house while I looked for an apartment and a place to open a photography studio of my own. For several weeks I searched for an apartment but I just seemed to keep hitting a brick wall. Forks was such a small town so there really weren't any apartments to speak of.

Friday morning I woke up to go for my morning run through town. Usually my run consisted of the paths through the woods that ran behind my parent's house. That morning I decided to change my route. I ran down our long gravel driveway and on to the main road that led into town. Making my way around the loop in the town square to head back towards home, I glanced off to my right and noticed a building with a for sale sign in the window. Walking over to the windows I peered inside. From what I could see right off, there was a large front room with a counter off to the right hand side. It appeared that there may have been at least one more room in the back but the building was dark so I couldn't be certain. I called the number on the sign and an elderly gentleman answered the phone. Explaining the reason for my call, I asked if he would mind coming down to show me the place.

The man's name was Aro and he was a short, portly gentleman with thinning gray hair. "I just put up that sign a few days ago, I never thought anyone would be interested in this old place so fast; especially in such a tiny town as this." He said as he shook my hand. He opened the door and we entered the building. Just as I had seen from the window, the door opened in to a large open room. A counter sat off to the right and to the rear there were three doors. One door sat along the left wall and was just a tiny janitor's closet. The second room appeared to have been a workshop type area, with a wooden counter top that ran all around the room. The last door led in to what appeared to be a stock room or storage area. Right away I knew that the place would meet my needs perfectly.

"I almost forgot there is another large storage space upstairs. Follow me." Aro said as he walked through the larger of the two stock room areas. I followed him out the back door and up the rickety metal staircase. He took out a second key and opened the door. "This is just some additional space that can be used for just about anything so I thought you might like to check it out. I never used this space; in fact, this is the first time I have been up here probably in twenty years or more." I stepped inside; the room was covered in a thick coat of heavy dust but I was immediately in awe. The room had obviously been more than just a storage room at some point with its metal tiled ceiling and intricately detailed hand carved columns. Sure the place needed some work but I could tell that it had potential.

I knew right away that I wanted the place and the price was almost too good to be true. I didn't want to seem overly anxious, but I really did love the place. I told Aro that I would think it over and get back to him in three days.

I finished my run back to the house thinking about how I could make the building work for me. The first thing I decided was that I would convert the upstairs in to a loft apartment which would take care of the housing situation at the same time. I ran back to the house to tell my parents the news. They were happy for me and dad wanted to meet with Aro as well when I signed the papers in a few days.

On Monday morning Dad and I met Aro at the small diner on the outskirts of town. When we arrived he was already seated at a table next to a much younger man who was impeccably dressed in a navy three piece suit. He seemed a little out of place in the tiny diner in his fancy suit, which, if I was a betting man, I would guess was Armani. We took our seats across from the men. We gave our drink orders to the waitress and waited for her to leave. I introduced my father to the older gentleman. "Aro, this is my father, Carlisle. He's the chief of surgery at Forks General. Dad this is Aro, the man that owns the property that I told you about."

"It's nice to meet you Carlisle. This is my lawyer, Marcus; he will be acting as the witness to the sale of the property. As well as making sure that all of the paperwork is handled accordingly," responded Aro.

"I have given it a lot of thought over the last few days. I definitely want to purchase the property and I am prepared to pay the full asking price." I pulled a cashier's check, for the full amount of the asking price out of a manila envelope that I had brought with me and laid it on the table in front of Aro. I signed all of the paperwork and was given the key and the deed to the property. My curiosity got the best of me and I just had to ask, "Mr. Volturi, I was just wondering, I know the property is worth a lot more than you were asking for it. How come you decided to sale it so cheap?"

Aro sighed and leaned back in his chair and began telling me his story.

"I was born in a tiny village in Italy in 1920. Volterra was a beautiful place that sat high up on the mountain side overlooking the crystal blue waters of the Adriatic Sea. It was there that I met and fell in love with Gianna. It was the summer of 1938 and her family had just moved to Volterra from one of the Northern provinces. She was beautiful, tall and thin with olive skin, hazel eyes and long silky brown hair that hung down her back in waves. I knew the minute I saw her that I wanted her to be my wife.

"We were married in the fall of 1939, I was nineteen and she was sixteen. I was working on a farm just outside the village. Jobs were scarce in the village, so most of the men in my village worked on one of the nearby farms. The pay wasn't great but we made do. I returned from work one day in June. Gianna met me at the door and informed me that she was pregnant. I was ecstatic! I had met the love of my life and we would soon be bringing a child in to the world.

"That night, as we were lying in bed, we began discussing our hopes and dreams. The only thing I wanted for my family was a happy, stable life. Gianna said that was all she ever wanted as well. But I remember numerous occasions when she had also expressed her dream of one day becoming a nurse. She was such a caring and loving woman and I knew she would be an amazing nurse. As much as I loved Volterra I knew that if we had stayed there, she would never be able to achieve her dream. For my wife, I would move heaven and earth but with the meager salary I earned on the farm there was no way I could pay for her to go to nursing school.

"Rumors had been circulating around the village for quite some time that many people, from all over Italy, had been able to make a better life for themselves in America. For months I worked hard, taking on extra shifts; scrimping and saving every bit I could. Finally one night in October, I came home from work and announced to my wife that I had purchased us a couple of tickets aboard an ocean liner. We were moving to New York.

"Two weeks later we arrived on Ellis Island and were given a place to stay in the dormitories, but we had a limited amount of time that we were allowed to stay. I went out daily looking for work. It wasn't easy trying to find a job when you're new to the area and unable to speak the language well. Having nearly given up hope on finding work and thinking that we may have made a mistake in leaving Italy, I happened upon a shoe repair shop. Entering the shop, I said a quick prayer. The owner of the shop was a man named Caius; he was an older gentleman, mid-fifties or so and who just happened to be from the Volterra as well. I explained my situation to the man and he agreed to give me a chance.

"Caius taught me everything I needed to know about the trade. Always the quick learner, I took to the job easily. Caius even offered for Gianna and me to stay in the backroom of the shop. It wasn't much but it was roof over our heads seeing as our time for staying in the dormitory on the island was running out.

"Our son, Angelo, was born in March, four months after we moved in to the shop. When Angelo began walking we decided that the stock room had become too small for the three of us and it was finally time to find an apartment. We took a large part of our savings and found a small place on the lower east side.

"When Angelo started school and Gianna no longer had to stay home with him all the time, she was finally able to go to nursing school. She got her license and went to work in one of the larger hospitals in New York.

"I hoped to one day open a shop of my own. In 1961, our son married his high school sweetheart and moved to California. Gianna and I decided that we'd had enough of the city life and wanted to a change. The shoe shop was going to be closing soon, Caius had fallen ill and was no longer able to run the place any more. That's when we decided that it was time for us to leave.

"We left New York and moved here to Forks. I opened a shoe shop here and it thrived for many years. I kept the shop going as long as I possibly could, finally closing the doors last year. Shoes these days are made to be disposable, just like everything else. It was cheaper to replace them than have them repaired. Then, six months ago, we found out that Gianna had breast cancer. The doctors did everything they could but it was too late, the cancer was already in the end stages. About two months ago, Gianna told me that she wanted to die at home, in Volterra. We didn't really have anything tying us here anymore, our son had passed away from a heart attack a few years ago and we had never had any more kids. The only family we had left was still in Volterra. I put the shop up for sale. I decided to only ask enough for the shop that Gianna and I can comfortably live out the rest of our days in Volterra. I wanted be able to grant Gianna her one last wish."

Aro got quiet as he wiped a stray tear that had run down his cheek. "I am so sorry to hear about your wife; you obviously love her very much." I said, placing my hand on top of his feeble hand in comfort.

"Thank you. We've had a long and happy life together although neither one of us ever thought we would outlive our son. I am happy to be going back to Italy, it's been a long time, and we have only been back a few times over the years. I only wish it were under more pleasant circumstances."

Dad and I finished our drinks and headed back home; key in hand for my new store. We drove home in comfortable silence. Dad had already found that rare kind of undying love in Mom, and I hoped that one day, I would be lucky enough to find that kind of love myself.


End file.
